If you'd like to contact me, send me wine or a wine accessory for review, mention a great wine deal, promote your wine business, point out a typo/misused word/outright error, or otherwise connect with me:

Recent wines purchased on CellarTracker

Recent Tasting Notes on CellarTracker

Accolades

“This is good news for Massachusetts wine enthusiasts, who will now be able to purchase wines they currently don’t have access to,” said Robert Dwyer of Wellesley, who blogs about wine. “This is also good news for Massachusetts in general since it will mean new revenues.”

"Robert P. Dwyer of Wellesley, who blogs about wine at thewww.wellesleywinepress.com, calls the state’s liquor laws bizarre and favors a wider availability of wine. For consumers, it would be more convenient to be able to buy wine at a supermarket while shopping for food, he said."

“You have this strange exclusion of wine, which in Europe is considered a grocery item,” said Mr. Dwyer. “Here it’s considered the demon rum.”

"trying to predict the annual Wine of the Year is a popular parlor game among enophiles. This year, blogger Wellesley Wine Press held a contest, with New York wine retailer Grapes the Wine Co. awarding a prize of a Kindle Fire e-reader to the first commenter to correctly guess this year's top wine before it was announced. Unfiltered was impressed with the number of Top 10 wines prognosticated by Wellesley's readers. "Senelwine" guessed Château de St.-Cosme Gigondas 2009, our No. 10 wine, "Mike M" guessed Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional Douro 2008, our No. 7 wine, "James Z" guessed Baer Ursa Columbia Valley 2008, our No. 6 wine, and "RichardPF" nailed it, winning the Kindle, and the respect of his wine-loving peers. Looks like Wellesley's readers know their wine."

The Chicago Tribune's Bill Daley mentioned the site in Rosé: A wine for more seasons. I said "For me, they're like pumpkin spice coffee drinks: best enjoyed early in the season". Bill alsogave the site a shout-out for a piece the Capitol Case Clubcontributed about restaurant wine service. I thought it was a great example of how print wine writers can effectively engage wine bloggers.

The Boston Globe's website has been linking to my recent entries as part of their expanded local coverage includingWellesley. I truly appreciate that as it has driven a lot of local traffic to this site.

It was really nice of Thomas Matthews, Executive Editor of Wine Spectator to leave a comment and then check back and answer some questions I had. Awesome guy! Check it out here. And here.

Thanks to The Boston Globe for including The Wellesley Wine Press in their list of local blogs in the Food & Drink section. Check it out here.

The Wellesley Wine Press was just added tohttp://wine.alltop.com. Alltop is an interesting topical take on sorting through the best sites on the Internet- check it out and see which sites are listed for topics you're most interested in.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Some weekend finds for your consideration:

2007 Coho Headwaters
Where: Upper Falls Liquor in Newton, MA @UpperFallsWine
How Much: $60/btl, but they're running a special for the month of April where 6 mixed non-sale bottles are 20% off so that would bring it down to $48. Give them a call today (Friday) and they can probably set some aside for you and honor the April sale pricing: 617-969-9200More info on this wine here

Sea Smoke Ten Pinot Noir
Where: New Hampshire State Stores
How Much: $78.99 (just below the $80 release price)
I cracked open a 2006 Sea Smoke Ten for my birthday last night and I thought it was a great experience. Extremely hard to find this wine reasonably priced in retail shops. I see availability at these locations but the vintage offered is unclear. Might want to call ahead if it's far away. Race you there?Side note: Why is the NH state store sophisticated enough to update per-store inventory on a nightly basis yet they don't list vintages on their website? Bizarre.
I hear they also have some of this at Upper Falls. Be sure to ask- it might not be on the floor.

2007 Chappellet Mountain Cuvee
Where: Wine Cellars of Stoneham and Danvers@WineCellarsMA
How Much: $19.99
Stopped in at the Wine Cellar of Stoneham this week to pick up a few cases of wine for my father-in-law's retirement party. I went with the always reliable Columbia Crest Cab and the Dashwood New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Great party wines each at $7.99.
But I've really been impressed with prior vintages of Chappellet Mountain Cuvee and their pricing on the 2007 was the best I've seen around.

2005 Columbia Crest H3 Merlot
Where: Wine Cellars of Stoneham and Danvers
How Much: $11.99
I've been on the lookout for this wine for a while and despite its high production levels I don't see it in a lot of the shops I've visited lately. I was pleased to see this one but thought the older 2005 vintage was a bit strange (2007 would be more current). However, I was blown away by this wine- truly fantastic. I think the bottle age makes this a great wine right now.My tasting notes on Grape Stories here.

2008 Annabella Pinot Noir
Where: Wine Cellars of Stoneham and Danvers
How Much: $11.99
Really liked the prior vintage so looking forward to trying this one as well. Great price and they've got the Angeline too so you can compare and contrast. I prefer the Annabella, but I'll write-up my thoughts on the confusingly-similarly-named Angeline soon.More about the 2007 Annabella here.

2008 Yealands Pinot Noir
Where: Post Road Liquors in Wayland
How Much: $13.98 net
91 WS/$16 release price is an incredible QPR for Pinot Noir, but I was as impressed with it as Harvey Steiman from Wine Spectator. I'd rate it 87 points- my notes here.

When impressive ratings rained from the sky for Hall Winery's 2006 higher-end Cabs (priced between $75-$150) the natural question to ask was whether their entry-level Napa Valley designated wines would deliver similar excitement at a more affordable price point.

In an effort to answer that question, I sought out a bottle of the 2005 Hall Napa Cab to get a feel for the wine. The short answer is that yes- their entry-level Cab is very good. But in my opinion it's a noticeable notch below the pricier wines.

There's been a considerable amount of excitement brewing for the 2006 Hall Napa Cab ever since Wine Spectator dropped a 94 point rating on it. At $40 this presents a compelling value in Napa Cab- especially given its 18,500 case production level which should make it relatively easy to find.

Strangely, I didn't see a lot of the 2005 vintage of this wine in Massachusetts. And although Spectator only rated the 2005 86 points I thought it would be good to try it to approximate the style of wine the 2006 might offer.

The wine is released relatively late compared to contemporary conventions for release times of Napa Cabs. The 2006 is just coming to market (in April 2010 as of this writing when most 2007s are coming to market). The wine spends18 Months in 100% French Oak, 55% of which is new. Here are my notes on the 2005:

2005 Hall Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
14.5% Alcohol

Displays markings typical of nice Napa Cab: Fruit forward with some savory components backing up. In this case, primarily dark plums backed up with some bay leaf. Full bodied and delicious but I'd call it "plump"- round and juicy with very soft tannins. I wouldn't mind more "bite" in a wine this age but it's an enjoyable powerful wine at this point in time.

WWP 89 Points/Very Good

Guidance: Wait for the 2006 to come to market and buy a couple bottles especially if you an find it in the low $30s.

Honestly, one thing I think creates confusion around this brand is the number of wines in the market that contain the word "Hall". Robert Hall, Patz & Hall, Whitehall Lane, etc etc. Have a look at this Wine-Searcher link to see what I'm talking about, it's confusing!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Blanchards Wine & Spirits in West Roxbury, MA is having their Spring grand tasting of over 100 wines this coming Wednesday April 28th, 2010 from 6pm-9pm. Wines poured at the event are 20% off which is pretty compelling given that their everyday pricing isn't significantly marked up. Blanchards is one of my favorite stores in the area and I think this event offers a great opportunity to try a lot of great wines before you buy them.

If you happen to run into Steve Grant or Eden Stone be sure to ask for their top picks. I think they've both got really sharp palates and they've got a high batting average with recommendations they've given me in the past.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Three things I'd like to mention for this weekend:

The other day as we were driving to Wine Riot I saw a billboard off the Mass Pike that caught my attention. It advertised the 2011 Hyundai Sonata which features 200hp, 35mpg, and costs less than $20k. With such great specs, I wondered why anyone would drive another car. There are some things we can learn about stocking a wine cellar from this- I wrote a piece on the subject on Corkd- I'd love it if you had a look.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Blue Ginger (the culinary pride of our fair Wellesley) is offering a paired wine dinner featuring wines from South Africa's Mulderbosch Vineyards on Tuesday May 4th, 2010 at 6:30 PM. The cost is $100 including tax and gratuity. Here's the menu:

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The Centellino is a bottle-top wine aerator made in Italy that, like other wine aerators we've reviewed, attempts to improve the aromatics and flavor experience of wine instantaneously. It is imported by Fiorino Italian Imports. Here's a video showing the product in action:

Usability

The Centellino takes a bit of getting used to, but once you have the hang of it, it's pretty straightforward. I think guests who are wine enthusiasts would likely be interested in playing with it- those that aren't might find it a distraction. Like other bottle-top devices you tend to attach it to the bottle and leave it there until you're done drinking the bottle so if you tend to have multiple bottles open you'd probably want to have multiple Centellinos (else you'll be jockeying the device in and out of bottles). I like its one-handed operation.

I like how it effectively measures a 5 ounce pour. If you're trying to limit your consumption to 1 or 2 glasses a night and you're pouring into oversized Bordeaux glasses it's easy to get carried away. That said, it takes a little while to pour each glass and if you're in the mood to "just drink the stuff" the theatrics might be unappreciated, as they would with any wine aerator.

The product is made of glass which I consider a strength and a weakness. There's no chance of the wine picking up plastic flavors or aromas via contact but it's more breakable than if it were made of plastic.

When cleaning the device, it's a little hard to get inside the Centellino so without a tool you're only able to rinse it with hot water. Over the last few months that I've been experimenting with it, I didn't notice any wine build-up so presumably the glass resists wine stains.Water tended to collect in the device as it sat and dried which gave me concern that musty aromas might develop over time if I didn't shake all the water out. That said, I didn't notice any problematic effects from small amounts of water remaining in the device after cleaning.

The box it comes in is made of non-water-resistant cardboard and foam. Some competing devices have storage pouches/containers that seem more water-friendly so keep that in mind as you're shopping for devices.

Blind Tasting Results

I'm a big believer in blind tasting when it comes to assessing the effectiveness of wine aerators. For each of these tastings, I poured 2 glasses- one through the Centellino and the other directly from the bottle. I then asked my wife to flip a coin and if it was heads switch the glasses, tails don't switch the glasses. Either way I asked her to move the glasses around so I couldn't tell or hear whether the glasses were switched.

I first tried the Centellino with a 2007 Vietti Barbera d'Asti Tre Vigne. For me, the wine was rather closed-nosed and a bit harsh on the finish at this point in time- things I thought he device might help with. I thought the glass that went through the Centellino was slightly rounder and fuller on the palate, but the glass that did not go through the Centellino was slightly more aromatic. A tie.

I then followed up with a 2004 Orlando Abrigo Barbaresco. I've been on a huge Barbaresco kick lately and again wanting to stay in Italy (to test this Italian-made device) I thought this would be a good test. Unfortunately, this particular bottle lacked elegance and was quite sediment-laden. Pouring it through the Centellino reminded me that devices like this tend to churn the wine and aren't really strong at removing larger particles from ending up in your glass. At any rate, I thought the glass that did not go through the Centellino was actually a little better. It was slightly more aromatic and felt rounder in the mouth. A slight edge to the non-aerated glass.

Pros:

Innovative, upscale Italian design has a certain sophistication to it

It's made of glass so no concerns about plastic contamination of your wine

Two-step pouring ensures uniform 5-ounce pour

Cons:

Cleaning and storage of the device is a little more difficult than competing devices

Fared poorly in my blind tasting experiments

Recommendation:

While I can appreciate the Centellino's artistic design, my blind tastings haven't shown a consistent meaningful improvement to the aromatics nor mouth-feel of the wines I tested it with. I'll update this piece if I see better results in future blind tastings.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

For the month of April the Boston Wine Exchange is offering 15% off all non-sale wines. This is the discount normally applied to mixed-cased purchases and presents a nice opportunity to pick up a few bottles without having to stretch to a case to get the best available pricing.

I had a chance to visit the store last week. It looks to be a nice downtown store that mixes value-oriented wines from all regions with a nice selection of special occasion wines. Overall, pricing looked competitive with well-priced suburban Boston retailers.

If you visit, be sure to check out the back of the store where they keep their nicer wines and their wine tasting machines. I couldn't pass on a bottle of hard-to-find 2005 Cakebread Cellars Benchland Select. Offered at $85 (after 15% off) it was priced well below the best price nationally on Wine-Searcher.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Celebrate the Benziger Family Winery at Legal Sea Foods - Park Square with a very special evening of unparalleled Legal Sea Foods’ cuisine accompanied by hand-picked organic wine selections for each course. Legal Sea Foods and Erinn Benziger (East Coast Regional Sales Manager for Benziger Family Winery) have combined their respective expertise to create and host this unforgettable night to indulge all of your senses:

Saturday, April 17, 2010

I was in the neighborhood this morning so I stopped in to check out the latest offerings at Lower Falls Wine Co. in Newton, MA. I always enjoy chatting with and taking recommendations from the knowledgeable folks there, especially Stephen Pope.

My perception is that they play in a couple of categories: Obscure small producers they've discovered on their latest trip to Europe -and- hard to find wines. The hard to find wines are sometimes hard to find because they're from elite producers -or- because they've recently been knighted with a high score/low price from major publications. Although they de-emphasize points as a viable way of assessing wines they do seem to do a good job picking up high-scoring wines. I picked up some wines from each of these categories.

Don't live near Newton? I see it on Wine.com for $44.99. Prices may vary by state with Wine.com.

Just to the right of the Ratti is a wine I've had and would highly recommend: the 2005 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbera d'Alba Gallina. Also at $39.99 but eligible for discounting, I thought the wine was fantastic and rated it 93 points. I'd love to get this wine at $32/btl with discount pricing, but doubt I could get 3 cases of interest from my local case club friends.

I also picked up a bottle of 2006 Prince Florent de Merode Ladoix
"Les Chaillots" on Stephen's recommendation as a relatively affordable entry point into the ever-tough Burgundy category. We'll give it a whirl and see how it goes. I'm still finding my way around Burgundy figuratively and Stephen was there just a week ago literally.

I think Lower Falls is a very nice shop. I only wish their case discounting policy was a little more liberal: 10% off a mixed case, 20% off 3 cases. 3 cases is tough. That's a lot of wine to buy all at once. If they did 20% off a mixed case I'd be a lot more likely to get together with a couple of friends and buy more wine there.

Hey you know what would be great? If you subscribed to the WWP so we can keep in touch about wine deals like these.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Late last year a new wine brand launched you may have seen in stores- Lucky 7 Wines. The seven varietals in the line-up retail for around $9.99 and you may be able to find them for a little less if you look around.

I tasted through three of these wines recently- a Carmenere, a Sauvignon Blanc, and a Cabernet Sauvignon. For me, the wines succeeded for offering affordable varietally-reminiscent introductions to each of the grape varieties they're made from. Without breaking the bank, I believe that anyone who tries one of these wines as the first example they've had of wines made from one of these grapes will get a reasonable feel for whether they want to explore the category more. And that's a great thing because it's not always something we see at sub-$10 price-points. Here are my notes...

2009 Lucky7 Carmenere
13.5% Alcohol

From the Rapel Valley of Chile. Dark magenta/purple in color. Smells quite delicious with abundant fruit amply backed up a mixture of spices. Packs a lot of round flavor on the palate. It's definitely got a little green pepper, a common Chilean Carmenere flavor, but just a touch. More noticeable are the mix of chocolate and red-candy overtones. These I thoroughly enjoyed. Just a hint of tannic grip and acidity. Quite nice.

WWP: 87/100 Very Good

2009 Lucky 7 Sauvignon Blanc
13% Alcohol

This wine comes from the Maule Valley of Chile and similar to other Chilean Sauv Blancs I've had behaves like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc without the pungent aromatic edges. It veers more towards creamy and tropical than citrusy and what it lacks in acidity in makes up for with utter drinkability.

WWP: 85/100 Good

Lucky 7 Cabernet Sauvignon
13.5% Alcohol

Also from the Rapel Valley. Luscious and medium-full bodied. Thankfully avoids the green pepper aromatics present in so many Chilean reds. I would say "sweet tannins" but there are hardly any tannins to speak. Would benefit from more grip and acidity but this too is an easy drinking party wine that would play well at an informal party.

WWP: 83/100 Good

Samples for review.

Question of the Day: Have you had Lucky 7 Wines? If so, what did you think?Read more...

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

You might recall there being additional hurdles to jump before direct shipping becomes a reality. Things like per-truck licensing requirements for FedEx and UPS and per-consumer volume caps. There's been progress on this front as well. House Bill 317 and Senate Bill 176 have been merged into 4497: Regulating the direct shipment of wine.

I'm pleased to see things moving along on this front but I still believe 4497 could use some work. The current discussion has been all about wineries, but retailers still wouldn't be able to ship in and out of the state. If retailers aren't mentioned as part of this set of changes, we'll continue to have a situation where in-state retailers are limited to the consumers in the state, and consumers can't buy online from out of state retailers. Better to get the laws right once and for all if you ask me and the right thing to do is open the state to legal shipment from out of state retailers.

Failure to do so might lead to out of state retailers complaining that they're being discriminated against as compared to out of state wineries. Further, the state is missing an opportunity to increase revenue by taxing wine shipped from out of state retailers to consumers.

Let's free the grapes and allow wineries and retailers to ship in and out of Massachusetts.

This was pretty serious stuff, which surprised me a bit. For whatever reason I was expecting something more straightforward. And a bit sweeter. Whether you'll like this wine will depend, I think, on how dry you like your Riesling. For my palate, I thought this one was pretty dry. Starts off with considerable petrol aromas backed by citrus. On the palate, lots of lime sherbet, grapefruit and flat ginger ale. Considerable zing with a touch of acidity. Wanted to like it more than I did, but overall a solid effort from Germany.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

BOKX 109 American Prime will host an evening of exceptional wines from Napa Valley’s acclaimed Newton Vineyards and culinary creations by Executive Chef Evan Percoco. Join in this unique opportunity to meet and dine with Dr. Su Hua Newton, owner of Newton Vineyard’s and experience an exclusive four-course wine dinner, specially created for this evening only:

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Strange as it may seem to people in parts of the country where it flows more freely, wine cannot be sold in grocery stores in New York state. Some are working to change that however, and this has New York wine retailers concerned about the competition large grocery store chains present to their business.

In Godin's piece, he's talking about taking the long view and focusing on sustainable advantages. Focus on offering joy in a can rather than fighting those who seek to tax and expose the tooth-rotting good-for-nothing nature of your product. In the case of the retail wine industry, the long view is differentiating retail stores in ways that grocery stores cannot. Things like personal service, leveraging the Internet/social media, and events and education where grocery stores don't focus.

But more than that, it's about recognizing that competition from grocery stores might be more of a threat to certain types of retailers than others. A few years ago when Massachusetts was considering lifting the 3-store-per-chain limit on grocery stores, some of my favorite wine retailers were actually in favor of the initiative. They felt the competition from grocery stores would only negatively affect old guard package stores that have been resting on their laurels the past few decades and offering consumers high prices and mediocre service.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Julio's Liquors in Westborough, MA is offering 10% off non-sale 750ml bottles of wine and 25% off a mixed case of non-sale 750ml wines this weekend as part of The Phantom Sale. The sale runs Saturday April 10th from 9am-10pm and Sunday April 11th from 12pm-7pm.

Question of the Day: Any value plays you'd recommend based on recent inventory at Julio's? Looking to split a mixed-cased purchase so you don't have to buy 12 bottles to get the discount? Leave a comment below or drop me an E-mail at wellesleywinepress@gmail.com and we can try to align schedules to visit the store at the same time.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Christopher's Wine & Cheese, a wine retailer based in North Carolina, is taking an innovative approach to combining purchasing power to score great deals on wines and pass them along to consumers. Check out One Wine, One Deal where they offer up a single wine by the case for 24 hours. If they get interest in 10 cases, everyone gets the deal. If they don't the deal is off and nobody buys the wine. Interesting approach.

We've done some things with case clubs here on this site and we previously discussed the Capitol Case Club which similarly aims to bring consumers together. These are private consumer-originated efforts whereas what One Wine, One Deal is doing is retailer-originated. The advantage in retailer-based efforts is that they can sniff out smokin' deals from distributors.

There are a few challenges I can see for the retailer. First, to minimize per-bottle shipping costs as a percentage of the overall cost of the order, more expensive (and hard to find) wines sold by the case work better. The problem with this is it becomes expensive to buy an entire case and consumers might be hesitant to bite.

Another challenge is the Internet's nature of driving prices down as low as possible. A consumer considering a deal will immediately compare the deal on a site like Wine-Searcher.com. If the wine being sold really isn't the cheapest by a significant amount- no deal.

Finally, it's got to be hard keeping the deals fresh. As a retailer you can't let too much time go by without an offer and invariably the pressure builds and the deals aren't compelling. The retailer's relationships with distributors (and favorable shipping laws in the state they're shipping from) are important if the retailer is to be a viable conduit of the wines they're offering.

But I like the model One Wine, One Deal brings to the table. I think it has a lot of potential. If they can keep shipping costs low, offer unique well-regarded wines, and unbeatable prices I think they've got a shot. If they offer leading-edge clarity in the wines they're selling, insight into total costs including shipping and a concise listing of states they ship to it would really help consumers make quick decisions on whether they'd like to buy. And if they can build up a community of trusting consumers who spread the word about their site- I'm convinced they'll have a winning model.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Wine Riot, the twice-yearly expo-style wine event targeted at a younger crowd and put on by the folks from The Second Glass, is coming to The Boston Center for the Arts in the South End on April 16th and 17th, 2010.

What to Expect

You taste wine and eat food at the event- bottles of wine are not available for purchase. Here are some suggestions I pulled together for enjoying Wine Riot II held last fall. Compared to the Boston Wine Expo, expect a smaller more accessible event, a younger crowd, and more food.

The Wines

Scanning through the list of 250 wines being poured at this event the following stood out. If this list is useful, you can print out this cheat sheet using the "Print Friendly" button at the bottom of this piece:

Check out the 90+ Cellars Shiraz Viognier. It was one of the best wines I tried last year offering an incredible mixture of blueberry pie and savory bacon overtones. An amazing value at $17. 90+ Cellars has advertised on the WWP in the past.

Check out the Dr. Loosen Kabinett Riesling for an amazing spring/early summer white. I think it's hard to go wrong with quality German Riesling, especially from a producer like Loosen.

New Zealand Pinot Noir is really picking up momentum with relatively low prices and a string of recent 90 point ratings from Wine Spectator. Check out Oyster Bay's offering in this category (in additional to their surely-enjoyable Sauvignon Blanc).

Travessia's semi-sweet Vidal Blanc is a domestic wine I think compares favorably to German Riesling. I had a bottle of this for the first time last spring and it blew me away. It's been a go-to wine for sharing with people who don't normally drink wine. Travessia has also advertised here in the past.

I've not had it, but the Layer Cake Malbec has received high praise from Robert Parker.

Wines from Owen Roe will be poured. I've been impressed with their Abbott's Table red in the past and would be interested in trying their Sinister Hand red and Sharecropper's Cabernet.

The Food

Lots of good food available in tasting portions under $5 with suggested pairings. Here are some brand I'm looking forward to checking out:

The Upper Crust Pizzeria recently came to Wellesley (here's a review I wrote based on ordering for delivery the first night they opened). They'll be at the event and I think pizza pairs brilliantly with lots of different wines- especially reds.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Roessler Cellars is a Sonoma winery focused on producing Burgundian-style wines (most Pinot Noir but some Chardonnay too) from designated vineyards. Wine Spectator rated 15 different Roessler Pinot Noirs alone from the 2007 vintage ranging in price between $28 and $56. Being the cheap skate that I am, this Sonoma County Red Label came in at the bottom end of the price range but towards the top end of the ratings range: $28/92 WS and was therefore a notable value-play in looking at Spectator's ratings of '07 California Pinot Noir.

I was pleased with this wine and would consider it a good recommendation from James Laube who does most of Wine Spectator's tasting of California Pinot Noir. Here are my notes:

Visually, this medium bodied red presents itself in a shade of magenta. Very clear visually- not cloudy at all. Classic Pinot Noir ripe strawberry aromas on the nose, which evolved over time with hints of spice and chimney smoke at Christmas time. Floods the palate with vibrant flavors of red raspberries, and slightly sour cherries. Silky smooth finish. Quite enjoyable and not disappointing at all.

Monday, April 5, 2010

On the cover of Wine Spectator’s issue on 2006 Napa Cabernet Sauvignons were 3 wines: The 2006 Kathryn Hall, a 2006 Schrader, and the 2006 Robert Mondavi Reserve. I thought the Hall was amazing (as I wrote here) and the 2006 Schrader was a wine I wrote about as being a $125 value wine.

I recently had a chance to sit down and try the 2006 Mondavi Reserve Cab alongside two other vintages of the Mondavi Resreve Cab: 1994 and 1999. It provided a fascinating opportunity to try a wine of consistent quality across a number of years to assess what happens to Napa Cab as it ages.

I met up with a couple of good friends at West On Centre in West Roxbury, MA last Tuesday night to try these wines along with food. The restaurant has a Bring Your Own Wine night every Tuesday night I highly recommend for wine enthusiasts. Make a reservation and ask for Lawrence as your server. The lamb chops were delicious.

The '94 seems to be substantially more highly regarded than the '99 in terms of retail/auction prices and CellarTracker reviews. I thought both were outstanding and unique.

The 2006 Mondavi is composed of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. 91% of the grapes are from the famous To Kalon Vineyard. The wine aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels.

Here are my notes on all the wines:

1994 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
13.5% Alcohol

Red/brownish in color. Spice on the nose along with some menthol. An exceptionally smooth wine. Hardly any tannic bite to speak of, which depending on what you’re looking for could be a good thing or bad. Long, heartwarming finish. Delicious aftertaste. This wine is subtle greatness.

WWP: 92/100 Outstanding

1999 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
14.1% Alcohol

Brighter and more similar to younger Napa Cab than the ’94. Less brown in color than the ’94- this one was more ruby-red. Enjoyed the grippy tannins in this wine, which were surprisingly present after 11 years. Complex nose. Surprisingly earthy.

WWP: 90/100 Outstanding

2006 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
15.5% Alcohol

Wow. Beautiful stuff. Dark purple in color with classic Cab aromas of black currant and blackberry. Full of delicious flavor. Firm, chalky tannins. Stunningly good and surprisingly different than the prior wines. Delicious wine. One of the best Napa Cabs I’ve ever had.

As we were trying these wines I was thinking about the following story lines:

Alcohol levels. The upward trend in alcohol levels in this wine over the years (13.5%/14.1%/15.5%). Did this wine drive the trend? Or follow it?

Aging. What does this tasting tell me about aging Napa Cabs for my palate?

Branding. Would you rather have a wine like this that’s a top offering from a famous high production brand -or- a wine that’s at the entry level of a smaller producer? Does the answer change depending on the occasion?

I'd like to come back and talk more about each of these subjects in future blog entries.

The 2006 was a sample for review.

Question of the Day: What do you think of Mondavi's Reserve Cab?Read more...